Bascule-bridge.



A. H. SGHERZER.

` BASGULB BRIDGE.

APPHOATIO! FILED JULY 30, 1907.

1,041,885, Patented 0ct.22,1912;

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A. H. SGHBRZER.

BASGULE BRIDGE.

APPLIGATIoN-HLBp JULY 3o, 1907.

Patented 006. 22, 1912.

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BASGULE BRIDGE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3o, 1907.

Patented Oct. 22, 191,2.

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.ALBERT H. SCHERZER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BAscULEiBRIDGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 22, 1912.

Application led July 30, 1907. Serial No. 386,256.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT H. SCHERZER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chica o, in the county of (look and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bascule-Bridgcs; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eX-,act description thereof, reference being had"""to the accompanying drawings, and to the -letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this speciiication.

This inventio-n relates to improvements in bascule or lift bridges of that kind kno-wn as a rolling liftl bridge, or one`in which the bridge is provided with a movable span or leaf, which swings in a vertical plane and in which the said span or leaf is provided with rolling segments resting on stationary tracks or supports.

The invention relates more specifically to features cf construction by which the rolling segments and their supporting tracks are located in planes outside of the Planes of the trusses which constitute the frame of the leaf and to the location or arrangement of the supportsl for the track-girders on which the rolling segments rest.

The invention consists in the matters herei inaftcr described and pointed out in the appended claims.

My improvements are illustrated in the accompanying drawings as applied to a deck bridge consisting of two spans or leaves, the front ends of which meet each other at the center of the water Way or bridged space, and while certain of my improvements are adapted particularly to this type of bridgeothers may be as well applied to a single leaf bridge or to a through bridge.

As shown in the said drawings,-Figure l is a view in side elevation of a bascule bridge embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of same. Fif'g. 3 is an enlar ed, detail. longitudinal, vertical section, ta (en centrally through the bridge structure` and showing the parts thereof at the rear end of the span or leaf, including the track girders, the counterweight and a rear lock. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail plan view of parts of the rear end cf the bridge, shown in Fiof. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail cross section taken on'line of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail cross section taken through one of the track glrders. Fig. 7 is a plan view of a portion of one of said track girders. Fig. 8 1s an enlarged cross section of the top plate of the track girder which constitutes the supporting track for the rolling segment. Fig. 9 is a view in side elevation of one leaf of a through bridge, provided with rolling segments located outside of the -planes of the trusses, in accordance Wit-h one feature of my invention.

As shown in said drawings A A designate the leaves of the bridge, each of which comprises side trusses having upper and lower chords a a.1 and a floor structure A1, located substantially at the level of the upper chords. The bridge illustrated is a railway bridge, the track rails being supported on cross t-ies that rest upon the said upper chords. The upper chords are horizontal and the lower chords of curved form; said lower chords of the two leaves having together the form of an arch and the bridge as a whole having the appearance of an arched bridge of deck form.

. B B designate rolling segments which are attached to the side trusses of the leaves, exterior to the planes of the trusses vat the rear end of each leaf. Said rolling segments rest and roll on horizontal supporting tracks, formed by the top surfaces of girders C C which are hereinafter termed track girders. The said track girders are shown as supported at their outer or forward ends on piers D D, and at their rear ends on other piers D1 D1. Said piers D1 D1, in the bridge shown in the drawings, constitute supporting piers for approach spans E E. The leaf trusses extend rearwardl beyond the rolling segments B B toward t e bridge approaches, so that each leaf has a rearward extension which meets the stationary approach structure at a point over or ad]acent tothe pier D1, and said rear extension of the leaf falls or descends as the front end of floor structures of the leaves, and extend transversely of the leaves, or from side to side thereof. Said counterweights F F serve to counterbalnce the leaves, in the usual manner, so as to permit of the raising and lowering of the -bridge leaves with minimum power.

The operating devices for the bridge leaves are not herein illustrated in detail. The parts thereof shown in the drawings corres ond with those of an operating device o the general type shown in the United States Letters Patent to Kellar, No. 7 52,563, and embrace fixed,... horizontal operating struts G G, located outside of the rolling segments B B, and provided on their upper surfaces with toothed racks which are engaged by gear pinions H, mounted on the movable leaf and o erated by driving conneet-ions, which it 1s unnecessar to illustrate or herein describe. The said struts G G are attached at their forward ends to columns G1 G1, which are anchored in the piers D, and at their rear ends by means of oblique struts or braces g g1 extending upwardly from the lower ends of the columns G1 and from the forward parts of the piers D1.

One import-ant feature of my invention relates to the location of the rolling segments B B and track girders C C in planes ,outside of the planes of the trusses. This construction is of especial value when used in connection with bridges having considerable length of span, inasmuch as 1t gives a wide bearing support on the track girders when the leaf is in its upright or open position, it being manifest that inasmuch as a long leaf extends a considerable distance upwardly when the bridge is open and is therefore subject to considerable wind pressure, the increase in the width of the supporting base, or distance between the track girders, is of advantage in giving stability to the span when raised. Another advantage of this construction, which is of especial consequence in connection with bridges of considerable length of leaf and which therefore require a large counterbalance weight, is that ample room or space is thereby provided for the counterweight. The laterally extending space in which the counterweight may be located, in such a construction is not confined to that between the outer faces of the trusses, because the said counterweight mayextend laterally beyond the trusses, as is the case with the counterweight F illustrated.

The rolling segments B B arranged as described may be attached to or connect-ed with the bridgetrusses in any desired manner. As shown in the drawings said rolling segments are rigidly secured to the trusses by means of transverse beams or girders I I connected with the upper chords of the trusses and like beams or girders I1 I1 attached to the lower chords of the trusses. The said beams in both instances extend at their ends outwardly beyond the planes of the trusses. The rolling segments, which consist of separate, rigid metalstructures, are rigidly attached at their upper and lower parts to the said outwardly extending ends of said beams.

In Fig. 9 is illustrated hrough bridge leaf A2 having inclined upper chords a2 and horizontalvlower chords a", and having its floor structure As located substantially at the level of the lower chords. In this instance the rolling segments, one of vwhich is indicated by B1, are attached rigidly to the trusses exterior to the outer side faces thereof. In lsaid Fig. 9, C1 indicatesa track girder, the top surface of which is located above the level of the bridge floor, and G3 an operating strut, attached at its ends to columns G4 G, and braced by oblique struts ,(12 g2. An advantage of locating said rolling segments outside of the trusses in a through bridge leaf, in addition to those hereinbefore L ted, is that the segments when so located may be conveniently made much smaller in size than when located in the planes of the trusses and constituting part of the truss structures, and also may be located at any convenient ypoint between the upper and lower chords. Fig. 9 illustrates the upper surfaces of the track girders as located at a considerable distance above the bridge floor, and the lower edges thereof above or near the level of the lower chords of the trusses. The construction by which the upper or supporting surfaces of the track-girders are above the level of the lower chords ofthe trusses, enables both the said lower chords and the track girders to be located only a short distance above the level of the water in a waterway, this being highly desirable in cases where the entire bridge structure is required to be close to the water level. The construction shown in said Fig. 9 in which the rolling segments are relatively small and of less vert-ical height than the distance between the upper and lower Vchords of the trusses, has the advantage of enabling such rolling segments to be conveniently attached to the trusses at any desired position or location relatively to the upper and lower chords thereof.

Another feature of my invention relates to the construction and arrangement of the counterbalance weight F. Said counterbalance weight consists generally of metal members attached to the trusses, and a mass or body of `cement or concrete applied to said members. As illustrated in the drawings the counterbalance weight embraces a box-like inclosure of metal, in which cement or concrete is inserted as a filling, the top and bottom walls of which are indicated by e e1 and the end walls by e2 e2. Said boxlike inclosure is, as a whole, wider than the distance between the outer faces of the trusses, its said end walls e2 e2 being located at a considerable distance exterior to the outer faces of the rear extensions of the trusses, which 'carry the counterweight, while the t-russ members extend through =or lare inclosed within the walls of the ining segments are located outside of the trusses because a counterwei'ght located as illustrated must necessarily pass downwardly between the track girders, which latter are, of course, located in the same vertical planes with the rolling segments.

The truss members which extend within or through the counterweight inclosure or box may be of any desired construction and if they include continuous vertical webs or plates such as are shown in the sectional,

View, Fig. 5, the cement or concrete filling will be inserted or applied to fill the spaces in t-he box-inclosure between and at the sides of the same.

Another important feature of my invention relates to the location of the rolling segments relatively to the supports for the v track girders C C. As will be clearly 'seen contact of the rolling se from Fig. 3, the outer ends of saidtrack girders rest upon the top of the pier Dwhich 1s shown as provided with transverse metal I-beams d d adapted to receive the downward pressure coming on the outer ends of saidl track girders. The point of greatest resistance to downward pressure orstress coming upon the outer end of the track girder is manifest-ly at the center line of the pier D. As these parts have heretofore been arranged the points of contact between the rolling segments and the track girders have been located at or rearward of such pointof greatest resistance to downward stress, namely, the center of the supporting pier. l'n the improved construct-ion illustrated, the parts are so arranged that the points of ents with'said track girders, when the bridge is closed, are located at or near the forward extremities of the track girders and therefore outside of the center line of the pier, and the inner ends of the track girders are anchored in such manner that they are held from rising; said track girders in the construction shown, being for this purpose inserted and secured in the pier D1: When the parts are thusl arranged the track girders operate in a sense as cantalivers, the same being supported at their forward ends at the center line of the supporting pier D, and held from rising at their inner ends, so that the vertical stress due to the weight of the bridge leaf, while t-aken directly by the outer end of the track girders, is not in fact brought upon the outer part of the pier (so as to lerally C-r endwise thereon.

have la possible tendency to tip or tilt the same on its foundation) but 'such stress comes vertically on the center of the. pier. It will, ofcourse, be understood that when the leaf is being lifted and when in its open position, its welght will come on the girders at points between the points of support of their forward and rear ends, so that at such times the load will exert downward vert-ical stresses on both supports or. piers'. It will also be ,understood -that the track girders will be made sufficiently stiff or rigid to preventv any substantial iexure thereof under the weight of the bridge leaf. It is to be also observed that the parts may be so arranged that the points at which the downa ward st.ressof the bridge leaf acts on the track girders may be located even farther toward the front end of thespan than illus trated, by extending the forward ends of the track irders outwardly to or beyond the forward ace of the pier D, so that said points of vertical stress may in fact be located entirely forward of the supporting pier.

A general advantage arising from the. cant-aliver construction in the track girders referred to, is that the actual length of the span maybe decreased without decreasing its effective length, which latter is measured 'by the width of the clear space or opening between the piers D D. The advantages of the construction referred to will be more apparent frommconsideration of the fact that the length of the bridge leaf is 1' decreased to the extent that the pointsI of support are moved forwardly from the center of the pier, and when this 'distance is as much as two feet, as isthe casein some bridges constructed substantially in accord- Cance with the drawings, the length of the span will be correspondingly decreased and the cost of construction proportionately lessened.

In Figs. 6, 7 and 8, is shown the construction of the track girdersand the retaining devices thereon by which the rolling segments are held fro-m shifting or moving lat- Such holding devices consist generally of upwardly projecting teeth o on the track girder which enter holes or sockets b formed in the curved bearing surface or tread of the rolling segment. Heretofore such teeth have been formed integrally on cast metal track plates, which form the bearing surfaces of the tracks but which, by reason of the short length of such cast plates, have possessed little lo ad carrying value. According to the construction shown in the drawings the track plates are made of a rolled plate which constitutes an upper member of the track girder, such as indicated by C1 (see Figs. 6, 7 and 8). Said plate C1 may ex-I tend the entire length 0f the track girder,

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but in a large bridge, in which said track girders are of considerable length, two or more of such track plates may be used. In any instance each plate C1 serves as the top member of the girder, adapted to give lateral rigidity thereto and combining the functions of an ordinary track plate with that of a stii'ening or reinforcing plate or bar. lnasmuch as such rolled track plates cannot be conveniently formed with integral teeth thereon, said teeth c are made of separate pieces of metal secured in holes or apertures c1 formed in the plates. Convenient means of securing the teeth in said holes or apertures is shown in the drawing, Fig. 8, wherein each tooth c consists of a block of metall of circular form having a lower reduced part or shank c2 which is fitted in the hole c1 formed in said plate. To the lower end of the tooth is attached a fastening or clamping plate c3 which is larger in diameter thanthe shank c2 of the tooth and over?.VO laps and bears against the under surface of the plate C1. Said fastening plate c3 is secured to the tooth by means of a clamping bolt C2, which is inserted verticallythrough the tooth and clamping plate, in the manner illustrated. Said teeth-c 0 are shown as ofV circular form, but they may be of other shape, although they will be upwardly tapered in a manner permitting thelr proper engagementl with the sockets in the rolling segments without binding therein.

I have shown in the drawings a suit-able form of locking mechanism forv holding the bridge leaf in its closed position, which constitutes the subject-matter of Letters Patent Number 978,893, issued to me and bearing date of December 13th, 1910; the same being a division of this present application. As the locking device shown in the drawings herein forms no part of the present inventiomit need not be described herein, except in so far as shown. Said lock embraces two oscillatory arms or locking detents J,. J, mounted on each end of a horizontal rotative shaft K extending transversely of the approach structure and below thelevel of the same'. Each of said locking arms or detents J, J, has itsfree or swinging end adapted to engage with a downwardly facing stop or shoulder formed ont-he projection L, on the end of the leaf structure. Said free'end of each lockingq detent, J, J, is adapted to` be swung rearwardly out of engagement with the shoulder on the stop L, by a suitable means such as described in my said patent above referred to. v

I have herein shown and described one specific embodiment of my invention, but do not wish that my invention be confined to the details set forth, except'y so far as4 such details may be specified in the annexed claims. A

ments; said segments and the supporting' tracks being located in planes laterally exterior to the sides of the leaf.

2. A rolling lift bascule bridge, comprising a bridge leaf having longitudinal trusses l and provided with rolling segments attached to said trusses, and supporting tracks for said segments, said segments and supporting tracks being located laterally exterior to the said trusses.

3. vln a rolling lift bascule bridge, abridge leaf having longitudinal trusses and provided with rolling segments which are located exterior to the planes of the trusses and with transverse frame members rigidly connecting said rolling segments with the trusses.

4. A rolling lift bascule bridge, comprising a bridge leaf having longitudinal trues, rolling segments located laterally exterior to the planes of said trusses, supporting tracks for said segments, and a counterweight attached to the leaf and extending laterally outside of the trusses'. v

5. In a rolling lift bascule bridge of the deck type, comprising a bridge leaf providedA with rolling segments and having logitudinaltrusses anda floor located substantially at the level of the upper chords of said trusses, said trusses extending at the rear end of the leaf beyond the rolling segments toward the bridge approach, and a counterweight extending transversely between the said trusses at the rear of said rolling segments and below the level of the top chords of the said trusses.

6. In a bascule bridge, the combination with a swinging bridge leaf having longitudinal trusses, said leaf being provided with rolling segments and with i longitudinal trusses which at the rear end of the leaf extend beyond said rolling segments toward the bridge approach, of a counterweight which extends transversely betweenand extends laterally outside of said trusses, said counterweight consisting of metal members attached to the truss members and a mass orbody of concrete applied to said metal members.

7. .In a bascule bridge, the combination with a swinging bridge leaf having longituinclosing portions of the trusses, and a filling of cement or concrete in said inclosure.

9. In a rolling lift bascule bridge, the combination with a. bridge leaf provided with rolling segments, of track girders on which said segments rest and roll, and supports for the forward ends of said track girders; said rolling segments being adapted to rest, when the leaf is closed, on said track combination with a bridge leaf provided with rolling segments, of track girders on which said segments rest and roll, and supporting piers for the forward and rear ends of said girders, said rolling segments being adapted to rest, when the leaf is closed, on the vsaid track girders so that the centers of said segments are in a vertical plane passing through points forward of the center line of the forward supporting pier, and the said track girders being anchored at their rear ends to the rear supporting pier.

11. The combination with a swinging bridge leaf having longitudinal trusses; of rolling segments rigidly attached to said trusses outside of the planes of the same and track girders the top surfaces of which are located above the level of the lower chords of said trusses.

12. The combination, with a swinging bridge leaf having longitudinal trusses, of rolling segments rigidly attached to the said trusses outside of the planes of the. same, and between the upper and lower chords of said trusses, and supporting tracks for saidrolling segments.

13. The combination with a swinging bridge leaf having longitudinal trusses, of rolling segments rigidly attached to said trusses outside of the planes` of the same, said rolling segmentsbeing of less vertical height than the distance between the upper and lower chords of said trusses, and supporting tracks for said rolling segments.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention aiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 2nd day of July, A. D. 1907.

ALBERT H. SCHERZER. r

Witnesses:

G. R. WILKINS, D. E. MARMoN. 

